Schoolgirl Bethany Poole was thrilled to do some modelling work - but it turned her life very ugly.

A gang of girls began a vicious campaign of bullying and death threats, meaning the petrified 15-year-old has been off school for 16 months and has felt suicidal.

The thugs used a mobile to film one attack - when they repeatedly hit Bethany as she cowered on the ground - and proudly sent the vile video to fellow pupils.

Bethany said: "They mocked the idea of me modelling, had a go at my looks and kept telling me I was ugly."

And she wrote in her diary: "I wish I was dead. Why me? I've had enough."

Mum Caroline, 45, a full-time carer, said: "She is scared to go out of the house without someone with her. She has fallen behind and is going to miss her exams. They have ruined her life and her prospects."

Paul Prest, chief executive of Academy 360 in Bethany's home city of Sunderland, said the school had offered her "all available assistance".

Northumbria police said five girls had been formally warned about making threats.